I love Pastor Tunde Bakare, but he should stay away from politics-Cleric

The founder of The Liberated Christian Manifestation Church of God, Pastor John Akinbule has advised Serving Overseer of Citadel Community Global Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare to choose between politics and the pulpit.

According to him getting involved in politics and at the same time running a church does not give the church a good image.

The cleric who spoke with Church Times on the phone said it is not normal for those who run church to meddle in politics saying that “ministers of God should not hunt for political posts as this would make them deviate from the purpose of their calling.”

His words, “Church leaders are to train or groom their members so that they can be trusted with the position of authority. Teach them to know the truth and speak the truth. You can make them realize that they are the cynosure of all eyes. You are the symbol people are looking up to. A church leader is the father of the king. It was a prophet that ordained King David. So we are to be kingmakers not to aspire for any post.”

On Vice President Osinbajo who is into politics, he says, “People are just saying the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo is a pastor. Fine. I don’t dispute that but he was called by Pastor Enoch Adeboye, not God. He is a servant of God under Pastor Adeboye.

“Pastor Adeboye ordained him and if he messes up today it will have a significant bearing on his denomination. But if somebody like Baba Adeboye vies for any political post we can say he has gone astray and that the spirit of God has left him. That is the difference. You can see Jeremiah, Isaiah and other prophets, how many of them participated in politics? You cannot serve God and still serve mammon. There are men of God and there are men from God. Some are working for God while some are working with God”.

Pastor Bakare and Politics

But in the case of Pastor Bakare, his romance with politics is not good enough for the body of Christ.  “I so much love Pastor Tunde Bakare. He is a man I revere so much. But I am not comfortable with his romance with politics. In 2011, Bakare was the running mate of President Mohammadu Buhari when they contested for the presidency and failed. Did he receive any instruction from God before he ventured into that?

He recalled that Bakare recently proclaimed that he is a formidable candidate in 2023 when the presidential election will hold. “I think his excesses have become unbecoming in the body of Christ. Whether he is a politician or man of God remains to be known.”

He said further that, “having large crowd does not mean God has called you. If you are so influential you can gather hundreds of thousands of followers. Remember that people were still following Saul after God left him before he died.

“But Jesus Christ never gathered crowd here on earth. How do you know if the spirit of God has left someone? It is his or her behaviour. The foundation Jesus laid for us is evangelism. We are called out for evangelism and this we must do with our whole heart.  We must not derail. As a man of God, if you join politics with the work of the Lord you will be distracted.

“You are off the track. Bible has already stipulated that you cannot serve two gods and when you are into politics you begin to serve two gods. So, there is no relationship between light and darkness. I am expecting Pastor Tunde Bakare to come out and tell us where he belongs. You cannot be here and still be there.”

On COVID-19 pandemic Akinbule believes the virus must be fought with a spiritual weapon, “coronavirus has a spiritual undertone that is why scientists have not found a certified drug to cure it despite its devastating effect on humanity.

“The virus is invisible to our naked eyes. This is an indication that it is spiritual warfare that needs to be fought with spiritual weapons. It is even the sign of end time because the Bible has talked about this pestilence. We need to involve God in this battle,” He said.

The Ondo-born cleric believes the pandemic has affected the church in terms of crusade, vigil, revivals and other religious obligations that could only be performed in the church auditorium.

“The Bible says our body is the temple of God. So, the pandemic lockdown only affected the physical structure of the church because that is where we gather to develop ourselves spiritually. The church is where we join forces to remove the spiritual veil covering our eyes. Many people are yet to have an understanding of the Bible. As matter of fact, when the church resumes, those who are weak in faith might have reverted to their old ways. Let the truth be told, some will go back to the world. To this effect, I can say the pandemic lockdown has a devastating effect on the church”. He declared.